Andy Burnham splurged tens of thousands of pounds on Pride events and festivals last year, figures show, sparking fresh questions from critics about his Makerfield bid

Published: 08:18, 29 May 2026 | Updated: 08:19, 29 May 2026 Andy Burnham splurged tens of thousands of pounds on Pride events and festivals last year, figures show. Labour's Manchester Mayor handed over £33,000 of taxpayers’ cash to the city’s Superbia initiative, an arts and culture programme which prioritises projects by ‘Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour’ and ‘Wider trans communities’. He also gave £2,575 to pro-transgender rights charity Stonewall despite many public bodies having cut ties over concerns about political impartiality and the scheme's value for money. A further £900 was spent on entry to the annual Pride Parade, a carnival which marches through the city centre, in August last year. It comes after revelations in the Daily Mail last week that Mr Burnham supports allowing men who self-identify as female to use ladies’ toilets. In a leaked recording from 2022 obtained by the Daily Mail, Mr Burnham claimed the idea that single sex spaces such as toilets should be protected for biological women was a 'minority view'. Andy Burnham took part in last year's Pride Parade through Manchester, which he handed over £900 of taxpayers' money to take part in  The Manchester mayor handed over £900 of taxpayers' cash to take part in last year's Pride Parade carnival through the city centre  An FOI reveals that Mr Burnham gave a grant of £33,000 to Manchester Pride Ltd for events and festivals  He dismissed the idea that women's safety could be put at risk by the presence of biological males and hit out at 'supposed feminists' trying to start 'culture wars' by demanding protection for single sex spaces. He was also critical last year of interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission following a landmark supreme court ruling that single sex spaces should be reserved for people of that biological sex. Details of the spending, obtained by the Mail under Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, could lead to fresh questions on the doorstep in Makerfield as critics said voters there were likely to feel it was a waste of public money. Mr Burnham is seeking to win a by-election in the seat as a stepping stone to challenging Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the keys to No 10. The FOI response revealed that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which Mr Burnham is Mayor of, gave a grant of £33,000 to Manchester Pride Ltd, which specifically ‘relates to the support of the Festival’s year-round culture programme Superbia.’ Artists and acts can apply for up to £1,000 to help promote their projects under the ‘Queer arts and culture’ year-round programme, which prioritises ‘Disabled LGBTQ+ people’, ‘Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour’ and ‘wider trans communities’. The FOI also revealed that the Stonewall payments related to taking part in According to Stonewall’s website, the programme aims to ‘support organisations in creating truly LGBTQ+ inclusive workplaces’. Membership means the GMCA had ‘access to expert consultancy, evidence-based training materials, accreditation tools and peer networking’ to help ‘embed inclusion’. It comes despite over 100 public sector bodies, including every major UK government department, leaving Stonewall programmes after ministers raised concerns about political impartiality and value for money. Finally the FOI added, the GMCA ‘spent a total of £900 for entry to the Pride Parade’. William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Taxpayers will be livid that Burnham splurged tens of thousands on pride events and festivals. 'Many voters will struggle to see why he funnelled their money into activist organisations and niche political causes rather than tackling crime or improving local services. 'Politicians should focus on delivering frontline services and stop treating taxpayers as a limitless source of funding for virtue-signalling and identity politics.' Mr Burnham was contacted for comment. A GMCA spokesman said: 'Greater Manchester has a long and proud history of championing equality and diversity and celebrating our communities.  'This culture is one of the reasons why people want to live in, work in, visit, and invest in our city region.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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